columbia public school district

A high school shooting in Parkland, Florida left 17 people dead on Wednesday, Feb. 14. While the shooting was states away, the incident serves as a moment for parents to pause and think about the safety of school children, said Christine King, Columbia Board of Education member.

“I don’t want to be so naive to say that it would never happen here,” King said. Because I don’t think you can ever stop people from making really bad and grave decisions. But I think we’re in a very good position from a safety standpoint.”

King said that current safety procedures are discussed at active shooter trainings that Columbia Public School District employees, building personnel and students attend at least once a year.

Two top local educators are saying farewell to the Columbia Public School District after years of service.

Gentry Middle School Principal Jeff Beiswinger believes that after 32 years as an educator, it’s finally time to retire. After 26 years of commitment to Columbia Public School District, he’s saying farewell and “going out the right way.”

Coming in October, aeroponic towers will be placed in every elementary school in the Columbia Public School system.

The towers hold 20 plants, each whose roots hang loosely in the air. Every 15 minutes, water is pumped up the tower from a reservoir at the bottom, and then drizzles onto the plants, eliminating the need to use soil.

Aeroponic systems use less water and some plants grow larger than in a conventional garden growing. The non-profit Columbia Public Schools Foundation approved the nearly 20 thousand dollar grant to pay for these plants.

CPS science director Mike Szydlowski came up with the idea to try to keep kids interested during school.

When Liam Theberge, a senior at Hickman High School, heard that the Columbia Board of Education was going to be talking about adding gender identity and gender expression to the District’s nondiscrimination policy last September, he knew he had to be at that meeting. “It was a really big and important topic for me, and I think a lot of incoming students and even current students needed to have their voice there,” Theberge said.

The Columbia Public School District may be welcoming a new sport to its athletic programs. Girl’s lacrosse supporters have helped convince the board of education to continue discussions about adding the sport to the district’s athletic lineup.

The major problem that now stands in the way of the program’s existence is the issue of funding. For the District to add the program, it would cost about $50,000 a year.

Municipal elections are Tuesday, and there are a few education issues on the ballot. Paul Cushing, Jonathan Sessions, Joseph Toepke and Helen Wade are the four candidates running for three spots on the Columbia school board. Voters in Hallsville and Sturgeon face similar races for their school boards, and in Ashland, eight candidates are running for three vacant school board seats. The Harrisburg school district is asking for a $2 million bond issue for security and technology improvements.

Leaders of the Columbia public school district plan to seek another $50 million bond issue in April, followed by new $40 million bond proposals every two years until 2020.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports the $50 million bond issue on the April ballot will require a 4-cent tax increase. The subsequent $40 million bonds in 2016, 2018 and 2020 would require no tax increase.

The Columbia Board of Education has approved construction to begin on a nearly $19 million project to build a new elementary school northeast of Columbia, adjacent to Battle High School. The board approved a bid by K&S Construction of St. Louis, the lowest bidder for the project. The original budget for the project was $12 million but the board increased that based on the projected need for capitalized interest and collective bond premiums.

Columbia’s Frederick H. Douglass High School celebrated its largest graduating class since the building reopened as a desegregated high school in the 1980s.

“This day, we celebrate the triumph and determination and hope of, hear this number, people, 72 graduates,” Douglass principal Eryca Neville announced to a roaring auditorium, packed full of proud family and friends.

The Columbia Board of Education debated a major change for one of its elementary schools at last night’s meeting. Lee Expressive Arts Elementary School, located in the heart of downtown Columbia, is attempting to follow the example set by Ridgeway Elementary and become an autonomous school operating within the Columbia Public School District.